Ukraine Hits 13 Power Substations and Four Russian Shadow Fleet Vessels in Overnight Blitz

Ukrainian drones struck 13 power facilities across temporarily occupied territories and four vessels linked to Russia’s shadow fleet in the Black Sea overnight on July 19, according to Robert “Madyar” Brovdi, commander of Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces (SBS).

Brovdi said SBS units engaged 59 targets across Russian-controlled territory during the operation. At sea, the reported targets included two tankers, a bulk carrier, and a floating crane. The extent of the damage and the identities of the vessels were not immediately disclosed.

“During the overnight patrol in the Black Sea, SBS Birds hunted down two tankers, a bulk carrier, and a floating crane,” Brovdi said.

The commander reported that drones also targeted 13 electrical substations and energy nodes—eight in temporarily occupied Crimea and five elsewhere in temporarily occupied southern and eastern Ukraine.

The facilities identified in Crimea included:

• The 110 kV Soliana substation in Kerch;

• The 220 kV Azovska substation near Staryi Krym;

• The 110 kV Zoria substation in Ponyzivka;

• The 110 kV Darsan substation in Yalta;

• The 110 kV Kapsel substation in Sudak;

• The 110 kV Koktebel substation in Shchebetovka;

• The 110 kV Lenino substation in Yedi-Kuiu;

• The 220 kV Nasosna-3 substation near Zelenyi Yar.

Five additional substations were reportedly hit in temporarily occupied Berdyansk, Zaporizhzhia region; Shyroke, Kherson region; Bila Hora and Bezghynove, Luhansk region; and Zemlianky, Donetsk region.

The local Telegram channel Krymskyi Veter reported explosions and gunfire in Crimea from approximately 2 a.m., followed by disruptions to electricity supplies and mobile internet in several communities. It also published footage that reportedly showed a fire at the Darsan facility in Yalta.

Brovdi said personnel from the SBS’s 414th, 412th, 20th, and 427th brigades participated in the strikes. The Ukrainian military’s claims and the full scale of the reported damage could not be independently verified.

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The attacks were conducted as part of two ongoing SBS campaigns—“MoLoChKa,” targeting Russia-linked shipping, and “Crimean Switch Off,” focused on energy infrastructure in temporarily occupied territories.

According to Brovdi, Ukrainian drones struck a total of 176 vessels associated with Russia’s shadow fleet and 96 energy facilities between July 1 and July 19. He said the maritime campaign would continue indefinitely.

Earlier, Ukrainian forces struck two Russian FSB Project 10410 Svetlyak-class patrol ships in the temporarily occupied Crimean port of Kerch within two days, alongside two oil tankers, two floating cranes, and a tugboat operating in the Black and Azov seas.

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